You know I’m inclined to overthink everything, and as such, have been analyzing my recent wardrobe additions with all the vigor of one trying to solve a perplexing problem.

What is the problem then? Is it that I am trying to make myself into (or at least appear to be) a person who embraces color as I once – and still do – embrace unconventional silhouettes? Is the problem that I don’t know who “I” am and am trying to pinpoint it by trying as many new things as possible? Maybe. Or is it that in these last years I’ve had trouble laughing, smiling, and in general “letting go” so I choose black, a color I love, but that does not necessarily make me “smile,” or want to laugh, avoiding the inclination altogether?

The “problem,” and that is what I name it, is the later: I am reserved, to a fault. So much that I have almost forgotten how to laugh and have fun without thinking much about how others are perceiving me. Why is a question for another day, I think moving to Texas, away from my “first” family, takes 99% of the blame though. It has been hard.

I don’t know how to play. I am so serious. I take myself seriously also. A quality I disapprove of in others, but use myself to protect my heart. From what?

Anyway, these pants make me want to laugh out loud. And they definitely make me smile.

They are ridiculously wide. And with the white Dansko clogs? So Extra. As the kids say nowadays LOL

A note on the clogs: I used to wear Danskos years ago, and then No6 Clogs, all the time, but have not for about five years. But I am feeling a clog revival coming on. Low heels, and all that, but nevertheless, clogs are on my radar again. I wore Dansko clogs when I worked at Starbucks; there’s a reason nurses/cooks/people who work on their feet swear by them. They’re not exactly stylish? But also sort of are in an DGAF sort of way.

I will need to scuff these up to feel better about them; they’re a little too pristine right now. And get used to the fit of Dansko clogs again. When they fit right, Dansko clogs allow your feet to “rock” a little inside, which takes some practice feeling out, but once you’ve got it, there’s hardly any shoe more comfortable. Well, Birkenstocks. But they’re a different sort of shoe.

I posted the pants on Instagram yesterday, because I was conflicted about the length. Ilana Kohn herself commented that she’s 5’2″ (I’m 5’3″) and after she dried hers they shrunk vertically so that they’re about ankle length on her. She’s right. I took this picture before a quick wash and dry, but now, they shrunk about an inch and are short enough to see my shoes and show a teeny bit of ankle, which is a length I prefer generally.

No, these are not too much. They are just enough. And exactly what I needed.

thanks for sharing 🙂

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Comments

A benefit of getting older is caring less about what other people think. I find that as I get older, I embrace the “honey badger” attitude more and more. I wear what makes me happy, and if other people don’t like it, then they don’t have to look. My wardrobe is primarily black, white, shades of grey and navy… but I did get a pair of Iron Oxide Kamm sailor pants and I love it. It’s the most colorful thing in my wardrobe. I don’t find the backview of the Kamm pants in any way attractive (hello long flat butt… ), but who cares! The front looks good and I only look at my front! Wear what makes you happy. At the end of the day, people are going to pay more attention to that smile than the clothes you wear.

Amen to Danskos! I still wear them all the time, including the old-school, low-heeled clogs (I have a pair that look like ugly Mary Janes, and I love them). In my 20s, I managed a chain of gourmet coffee shops (hooray for ex-baristas) and could not have tolerated those 12-hour-days on my feet without Danskos.

Don’t laugh-but have you ever thought of playing Pickleball? I have recently discovered it and am having a blast. It is so much fun to play and can be very social. It is also really easy to pickup and you don’t have to be “athletic” to do it. It has taken off in my city with all ages, not just seniors. As a matter of fact it is more millenials and forty somethings now at the park where I play. Just a thought. One more thing-you have always come across in pictures to me as a happy go lucky person. You have a beautiful and sincere smile. It kind of surprises me that you aren’t like that IRL.

i’m not laughing, but i’ve never heard of pickleball!! i will have to look it up now 🙂

when i am by myself, and “in my element” i am a happy person, and i can smile and laugh. get me around other people though…and i become reserved and concerned about making myself too vulnerable by letting my guard down.

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